China to scrap over 50 lakh cars to bring down pollution

Where there is smoke there is a way, and no one knows it better than Chinese. Our neighboring country is about to axe more than 50 lakh aging vehicles off the roads by the end of 2014 in a statistic move to enhance the quality of air in the country. Shanghai and Beijing will bear witness to this at large.

Approximately, 3.3 lakh vehicles were said to be scrapped off the Chinese road by May 26, according to a policy of the Chinese government.

This move is an insight to cut down the pollution levels that were targeted to perplex in actual since 2011-2013 periods. In fact, there are no concrete plans worked out on the government paper how this policy could be implemented in the routine. It also remains a well-known fact China had an extreme level of pollution due to coal burning, which accounts upto 22%.

Reportedly, the official news from China are tuning to us that Beijing’s municipal authority who previously offered subsidies ranging from 2,500 to 14,500 yuan (Rs 0.23-1.35 lakh) to drivers who voluntarily hand in older vehicles to be scrapped. Apart from the 3.3 lakh vehicles that will be deployed off the Beijing roads, would see additional removal of 6.6 lakh from the adjoining areas of Heibi, which is named as one of the smoggiest cities in China out of total seven.

In present scenario, Beijing had regulations that restrict entry of vehicle which doesn’t meet the standards. “Many vehicles have problems and many didn’t even meet the standards when they came out of the factory, and fining them on the streets isn’t the way to solve this problem,” said Li Kunsheng, an official responsible for transport emissions at the Beijing municipal environmental bureau.

Hopefully, the Dragon country thinks they can bring down the carbon footprints of the air by reducing the number of old cars, but let’s tell them, there should also be some guidance and norms to grim on the new vehicles that are moving out of the factory every seconds, which too are equally responsible.

“Focusing on solving the major environmental problems that seriously endanger people’s health, (China) investigated and punished harshly illegal pollution and environmental crimes, so as to safeguard people’s right to a healthy and clean environment,” added Li Kunsheng.